The British Society for Literature and Science » Society information

New BSLS Executive Committee

Michael Whitworth — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 13:41:11 +0000

As announced at our AGM at the Reading Conference, none of the vacancies on the BSLS Executive was contested, and the following officers were elected unopposed:

Chair: Michael Whitworth (proposed by Sharon Ruston & John Holmes)
Secretary: Kelley Swain (proposed by John Holmes & Melanie Keene)
Treasurer: Dan Cordle (proposed by Jon Adams & Sharon Ruston)
Membership Secretary: Stella Pratt-Smith (proposed by Alice Jenkins & Michael Whitworth)
Communications Officer: Stuart Robertson (proposed by Michael Whitworth & Alice Jenkins)
Members at Large: John Holmes (proposed by Michael Whitworth & Alice Jenkins)
—– Melanie Keene (proposed by John Holmes & Katy Price)
[one Member-at-large post remains unfilled.]

Contact details are given on the BSLS website.

Elections to the BSLS Executive Committee

Michael Whitworth — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 12:28:01 +0000

At the next BSLS conference, all five of the posts on the Executive Committee will be due for re-election, as the present incumbents have now served a three-year term of office. Any member of the society wishing to stand for election to the posts should let me know by 16 March 2009, and should also ask a nominator and seconder to email me to make the nomination. The present incumbents are eligible to stand for re-election. If there is more than one nomination for any given post, there will be an election held at the BSLS conference; should this be the case, I will ask candidates to provide a statement of no more than 200 words for circulation to members.

Further details of the posts are given below in the relevant extracts from the constitution. The constitution also makes provision for 3 member-at-large posts, at presently unfilled, and nominations for them would also be welcome. If you would like to make inquiries about the scope of any role please contact me or the current officer.

Michael Whitworth (Secretary)
Email: michael.whitworth@merton.ox.ac.uk

[FROM THE CONSTITUTION]
4. OFFICERS
4.1 There shall be an Honorary President, whose appointment is for an unlimited period.
4.2 There shall be an executive committee, consisting of: Chair; Secretary; Treasurer; Membership Secretary; Communications Officer; and not more than three Members at Large.

4.2.1 The role of the Chair is to oversee the fulfilment of the Society’s aims.
4.2.2 The role of the Secretary is to document meetings and other aspects of the Society’s activities, particularly to prepare minutes of Committee meetings and General Meetings, and to put them forward for approval.
4.2.3 The role of the Treasurer is to be signatory to the Society’s bank account(s); to present accounts for approval at the AGM.
4.2.4 The role of the Membership Secretary is to receive and process membership applications, to obtain fees from existing members, to pass on money to the Treasurer, and to maintain a membership database.
4.2.5 The role of the Communications Officer is to develop electronic resources; to manage and maintain an e-mail list, and to liaise with the Membership Secretary in relation to membership of the list.

4.3 Where it proves impossible to fill posts, one member may hold two, but no more than two posts.
4.4 Signatories for the society’s bank account(s) shall be the Treasurer and any other committee member.
4.5 The membership of the Executive Committee shall be determined by elections held at the annual general meeting of the society. Members wishing to stand for election should be nominated by two members of the society before the start of the AGM. Where there is more than one candidate for any post, election shall be held by a ballot on the basis of a single transferable vote.
4.6 Members of the Executive Committee shall serve three-year terms of office.

BSLS 2009 programme now available

Stuart Robertson — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 22:18:54 +0000

A provisional programme for our March 2009 conference at the University of Reading is now available along with information for delegates to register and book accommodation.

BSLS Book Prize for 2008

Michael Whitworth — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 17:28:13 +0000

The British Society for Literature and Science is pleased to invite nominations for the annual BSLS Book Prize.

The prize of £150 will be awarded to the best book published in 2008 in the field of literature and science. We therefore invite nominations, including self-nominations, for books to be considered. Monographs, edited volumes, editions, and books of creative writing are all eligible for consideration. The book must be in English and must have ‘2008’ as its publication date.

Please send nominations, including author, title and publisher to Dr Michael Whitworth (book-prize convenor) at michael.whitworth@merton.ox.ac.uk, with ‘BSLS Book Prize’ as the subject heading. The deadline for receipt of nominations is 16 January 2009.

• The book prize was launched in 2007; the winner of the first prize was Ralph O’Connor, for The Earth on Show: Fossils and the Poetics of Popular Science, 1802-1856 (U of Chicago P, 2007)

• Nominations are invited from society members and from publishers. The authors or editors of the nominated books need not be members of the society.

• The winner of this year’s prize will be announced at the BSLS’s 2009 conference in Reading